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A fugitive Zambian lawmaker with a bounty on his head has been arrested in Zimbabwe, Zambian authorities have stated.
Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, who was going through theft costs, is accused of getting escaped from custody in August as he awaited to seem in courtroom.
He is alleged to have escaped by a window at Chipata Central Hospital in Eastern Province the place he had been admitted following his arrest and was being guarded by police and jail officers.
The police then issued a bounty of 2m Zambian kwacha ($72,000; £57,000) for him.
He denies the allegations of theft.
At a press convention on Wednesday, the Zambian minister for residence affairs stated the MP had been arrested earlier this week in Harare.
Jack Mwiimbu stated the MP was arrested by Zimbabwean police at a flat he had been renting and would stay there pending extradition formalities.
He stated the federal government was eager to know who had facilitated the MP’s escape in addition to visits by his spouse to Harare.
He thanked the Zimbabwean authorities for his or her co-operation.
The opposition Patriotic Front (PF) get together, led by former President Edgar Lungu, condemned what he referred to as an “emerging and worrying scenario”.
Banda, who has been an unbiased MP since 2021, was beforehand related to Lungu, who misplaced the presidency to Hakainde Hichilema that yr.
The PF spokesman, Emmanuel Mwamba, stated what was occurring was “an abduction” including that the federal government ought to comply with “internationally prescribed extradition protocols”.
“We are urging the Zambian government that they should not join other African countries that are known to go other jurisdictions and pick and extract a citizen they are looking for for committing crimes,” he informed the BBC.
The BBC has requested the Zambian authorities for a response.
On Thursday, the Zambian police stated that Interpol in Harare had confirmed that Banda was of their custody and had requested extradition paperwork.
It famous that Banda had in a preliminary interview with Interpol denied the costs, “alleging he was being targeted due to his familial ties” with Lungu. This prompted a request for clarification on the costs, which Zambia supplied.
The Zambian police added that preparations to “finalise and transmit the required documents to [interpol in] Harare are currently underway” and additional updates could be given sooner or later.
In May this yr, Banda had been reported lacking in unclear circumstances. He resurfaced a day later, saying that he had been kidnapped.
At least three opposition politicians and a civil rights activists have been arrested following the case.
Two of those that have been arrested – Edith Nawakwi, chief of the opposition Forum for Development and Democracy get together, and civil rights activist Brebner Changala – accused the state of being behind the abductions.
The residence affairs ministry nonetheless denied the state’s involvement within the matter.
On social media there had been hypothesis that the kidnapping was staged, which was denied by Banda’s household.
Banda was later arrested in June this yr and charged with the non-bailable offence of aggravated theft referring to the theft of property value 12,000 kwacha ($430; £340) in 2015.
He faces further costs of escaping from lawful custody.
But Mr Mwamba informed the BBC that the costs have been “politically motivated”.
“Hon Jay Jay Banda is one of those members of parliament who are close to the former president, who this government is pursuing relentlessly.”
He stated the case was from a decade in the past and had been processed in courtroom earlier than, including that the costs have been meant to maintain him from telling the reality concerning the abduction.
He stated that on the time of his alleged escape, he had been admitted to hospital, due to a medical situation following his abduction.
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